Diving is one of the fastest growing recreational activities in the world. Each year, large numbers of people become proficient in self contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) techniques.
However, as man continues to explore aquatic environments, he can often find himself in confrontation with large and/or dangerous predatory animals, or animals which see man as nothing more than a possible meal or a territorial threat. Further, when he is isolated, injured, and/or unarmed he is at an even larger disadvantage, such predatory animals can present a real and unmanageable danger.
Therefore, Navy personnel, fishermen, other sailors, surfers, scuba divers, free divers, windsurfers and other persons engaged in water sports/activities can often find themselves in unexpected confrontations with potential aquatic predators.
An example of a method for repelling predatory animals by inducing an avoidance response is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,245 (the '245 patent). The '245 patent describes that the use of aposomatic patterns and coloration can be effective at repelling certain types of predators such as the docile nurse shark. In particular, the '245 patent describes using the sea snake Pelamis platurus' distinctive coloration, which includes a brightly yellow colored body having thereon irregular but yet very distinct black spots.
Although avoiding aquatic predators is desirable, closely approaching non-predatory animals (animals that are generally considered to not prey on man, also referred to herein as “ipassive animals” or “generally passive animals”) is also desirable. Additionally, because man is clumsy and relatively foreign in appearance to aquatic animals, many of the generally passive animals tend to stay away from man.
One form of equipment that can permits aquatic animals to closely approach man, while reducing the incidence of detection of man, is camouflage. For underwater activity, camouflage wetsuits such as those manufactured under the trademarks Deep Thought® and by Omer® have been found to be at least partially effective at reducing the incidence of detection of an underwater hunter (a diver that uses spear-guns and the like) by an aquatic animal. It is believed that such wetsuits function by breaking up the body outline of the underwater hunter, thereby allowing the underwater hunter to more easily approach prey undetected.
However, because such wetsuits are based on static camouflage techniques, the camouflage wetsuits are less effective while man is moving through the water. Further, it is believed that such camouflage wetsuits do not inhibit a predator/prey recognition response (described below) in the animal once the wearer is seen by a predatory animal or generally passive animal. Further, such wetsuits do not consider or take into account the particulars of the visual acuity of animals that live at depth, i.e. certain wavelengths of light are visible to some aquatic animals that are not visible to humans.
Lastly, for a recreational diver, hiding from aquatic animals can be undesirable because a recreational diver typically desires to have sustained interaction with generally passive animals.